Star Anna has released several CDs over the short time as a songwriter. Having started out as simply “Star Anna,” she has since added her band, the Laughing Dogs, to her moniker. The rest of the band consists of: Justin Davis on guitar and vocals, Keith Ash on bass, Ty Bailie on keyboards and Travis Yost on drums. Together, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs have created the 2011 release, Alone in This Together. And while previous releases featured a style that could have been categorized as “Americana,” the heavier feel to the music on Alone in This Together can only be called Rock and Roll.

Alone in This Together begins with the Justin Davis-penned “Shine”. While the song was written by a guitarist, the song is built mainly around the playing of keyboardist Ty Bailie. The gentle feeling of the beginning of the song builds until all of the musicians begin a slow jam.

One of the best tracks on the release by far is the title track. Star Anna and Justin Davis start the song with only their guitars. About one minute into the song, the pace quickens and the track adds a lot of energy to the album. The song even includes a solo from Pearl Jam’s own Mike McCready that really kicks up the energy. Along with being one of the strongest tracks, it is also the longest, allowing the listener to really enjoy the playing and interaction of all of the musicians, as well as the singing from Star Anna, herself.

“Time” is one track on Alone in This Together where you get to experience the band letting loose. While other tracks build to a point before the band gets into a groove, “Time” starts strong and just keeps going. The playing of the band members, the singing of Star Anna, and the message of moving on make for a strong track that feels like a single.

Another moment on Alone in This Together where you hear Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs just let loose and give it all they’ve got is on the song “Wolves in Disguise”.The guitars from Star Anna and Justin Davis, along with the organ from Ty Bailie create another strong groove on the album. And the solo from Mike McCready once again adds an additional amount of energy that helps make a strong track even stronger.

Every album must come to an end, and of course, Alone in This Together is no different. But for the last track on this release, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs slow down the pace while keeping the energy level up on the track “High Water”. The final song features justin davis on guitar and Ty Bailie once again playing the organ. The bluesy feel to the music and the lyrics create a song that gives the newest album from Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs a real feeling of closure.

As a bonus track, the title track of “Alone in This Together” is included at the end of the CD in a shortened “radio edit”.

Visit Star Anna’s record label, Local 683 Records.

If ever you want to see how truly talented a band is, see them in concert. If that band can perform the songs as good as or better than on the album, you know that band has the talent to go far.

Not long ago, Washington State-based Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs finally made their way to Cleveland. It was at the Brothers Lounge that the Cleveland area got their first exposure to this talented band. And when the band took to the main stage, you could see many of the people look up from the bar to listen to the music.

For me, it was a please to finally get to experience Star Anna in concert, having written my first article on her three years previous to that concert date. So when Star Anna and the band took to the stage, it was more about the concert experience for me than it was about checking out new music from a new band- I had my initiation to their music years before. For those who had never heard of Star Anna before that concert, she and the band spent the hour or so on stage playing a nice mix of music from Star Anna’s catalog of music. While most of the songs like “Time” and “For When I Go” came from the latest CD of Alone in This Together, the night also contained songs like “All of Her Ghosts” and “Through the Winter,” which came from Star Anna’s last CD entitled The Only Thing That Matters. The band even included “Devil Don’t Remember My Name,” a personal favorite of mine, which was included on the 2008 release, Crooked Path.

The most response, however, came when the band played the title track from the latest release. On “Alone in This Together,” Star Anna and the rest of the band all but blew the doors off of the Greater Cleveland venue. The power that was produced from the band on the song, as well as from the audience afterwards, made the song the most memorable moment of the evening.

The hour-long set from Star Anna at the Brothers Lounge and the Laughing Dogs that night at the Brothers Lounge was over too soon. Hopefully, it won’t be that long before the band comes back again for another concert in the Cleveland area.

Click HERE for a live performance of “Alone in This Together”.

If you fall into this category (and you know who you are) let me assuredly tell you that Bat Sabbath has the power to change your mind and make you a believer in the magic of covers. If you don’t fall into the above-mentioned category, let me still tell you that Bat Sabbath can make you a believer in the magic of covers.

Now, I know that cover albums and cover bands can often be simple, shoddy attempts at quick fame and recognition, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth when it comes to two time Juno-nominated Cancer Bats and their Black Sabbath cover project. These guys are overflowing with talent, charisma and unbelievable stage presence, all of which are skillfully showcased and blatantly obvious during their live shows, no matter what songs they happen to be performing. Heck, they could probably take a folk album and turn it into one worthy of head banging and sore necks nationwide.

What started out as a one-time surprise performance at the Sonisphere music festival in Bohemia earlier this year turned into an 11-date tour of Ontario and Quebec this past month.

Taking Masters of Reality into their own hands – while also taking the liberty to rename the classic, dubbing it Bastards of Reality – Bat Sabbath made it clear from their first moment on that stage why the show had been such a success in Bohemia and why it had transformed into a mini tour. (Which will hopefully spawn a second tour and maybe even some recorded material. Hmm? I’m talking to you, Bat Sabbath. Please, please, please?)

In Montreal, the band performed at infamous punk/rock/metal hotspot Les Foufounes Electriques where the utterly captivated crowd grew bigger and bigger with every song.

Taking to the stage under the cover of darkness, surrounded by a cloud of smoke, with frontman Liam Cormier wearing a black cape (Note to self: capes officially make everything more badass), Bat Sabbath played all the Black Sabbath classics in a set that lasted slightly over an hour and had only one downside: It ended way too soon. I know that might sound cliché, but too bad, it’s the truth.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band so genuinely humbled by positive feedback and so focused on giving fans what they want. Just to prove my point, let me point out that Cormier was at the band’s merch table till the moment he had to get up on stage and was right back at it the second the set was done and he jumped off into the crowd and walked back over.

And to prove my point again, when fan after fan started getting on stage during the encore song, the band didn’t try and push ‘em off, instead choosing to embrace the mayhem unfolding around them as they continued to play. One lucky fan even had the chance to sing part of the final song as Cormier momentarily took a step back and let him do his thing.

I said it on Twitter right after the show and I’ll say it here again because even days later, I still feel the exact same excitement about this one of a kind show I was lucky enough to finish my 2011 concert season with: Bat Sabbath = a.ma.zing. Black Sabbath reunion tour 2012 should take notes and sleep with one eye open. 

For everything Cancer Bats: www.CancerBats.com

Lower 13 is a Heavy Metal band that makes its home in Parma, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). The band is made up of Patrick Capretta on guitar/vocals, Sean Balog on bass/vocals and Eric Kruger on drums. This trio of young musicians creates a heavy metal sound that is in the classic style of bands like Metallica (no Rap-Metal here). It is this classic Heavy Metal style that helped push Lower 13 into the final rounds of the High School Rock-Off here in Greater Cleveland several times, so it seems that their music really does register with
people who hear it. That was very apparent on Saturday Night’s performance
during the 2011 Cleveland Music Festival.

Kicking off a festival could be a gift or a curse, depending on how many people
show up for the early hours of the event. However, since there already was a
sizable crowd in attendance from the panel discussions that finished up a half
hour before, Lower 13 already had a built-in audience for their initial
performance/kick off for the Saturday Hard Rock/Metal night of the Cleveland
Music Festival. And while it is true that they had a captive audience for more
than half of their set as no other band was performing, Lower 13 only lost
about one-fourth of that audience when the second band began.

As with most festivals, the bands performing during the Cleveland Music
Festival were each given about thirty minutes to perform. It was good to see
that Lower 13 did not waste any of their time on stage as they loaded their set
with some of their best material, opting to include only one new song while
showcasing six others that were released on the band’s 2010 release, Rabid.

Once Lower 13 hit the main stage inside Peabody’s Downunder for their set, it
became clear rather fast why the band is one of the most promising bands in
Greater Cleveland. The play between guitarist Patrick Capretta and bassist Sean
Balog was great to watch; but ultimately, it was drummer Eric Kruger who kept
my attention: Very rarely in today’s music world do you see anyone toss their
hair to the beat of the music anymore; especially since the trend of shorter
hair on musicians became the norm. All three members of Lower 13 performed like
a well-oiled machine while playing the set. It would have been nice if they had
been performing for a bigger crowd, but their young ages will hopefully allow
for this band to build a larger following in the near future.

The band’s thirty-minute set during the Cleveland Music Festival was very good
and over too soon. The good thing is that, if you had the band’s release, Rabid, you could have gone home and continued the experience on your own. For those who are just learning about the band right now, here are just a few highlights from Rabid:

The album begins with the title track. “Rabid” begins with a powerful intro by
bassist Sean Balog. After the ten-second intro, the band launches into the
classic Heavy Metal the band is known for. Guitarist Patrick Capretta handles
the vocals on this track with a very energetic delivery, while Balog adds a guttural
vocal to the song, adding more of a Metal sound to the track.

Balog takes a turn on lead vocals on “My Own Reflection”. The song about seeing
only what’s there features some of the best metal created in a long time. It is
on this track that Balog shows the listener his abilities as a singer with his
straight-forward delivery of his vocals, with a few instances where he lets
loose a powerful growl to remind the listener that the band isn’t playing Hard
Rock but Heavy Metal.

On “Distant Memory,” the band’s musical abilities are showcased together,
bringing all of the instruments to the front. The first minute or so features a
rock sound on guitar and bass to showcase these abilities, and then the band
let loose with a full metal approach about two minutes in.

In concert, you can see how well Lower 13 performs as a band; on the album of Rabid, the band proves they have learned well from the classic metal bands that have
come before them. Whether in concert or recorded, this band demonstrates why
they have such a large following in the Greater Cleveland area. Now, the world
just needs to discover this talented metal outfit.

Bill Toms recently travelled from his home in Pittsburgh to Nashville to put the finishing touches on a new release. That album, 2011’s Memphis, is a solid effort and is varied enough to keep the listener anticipating the next track thanks to the creative energy that flows through the tracks that make up the album.

Toms’ new release of Memphis begins with the “title track,” “I Won’t Go to Memphis No More”. While the lyrics of the song suggest that, for personal reasons, it may not be smart to return to that city, the music of the track seems to have been very much influenced by the city itself. The song contains a large amount of Soul flavor thanks in part to the efforts of producer/multi-instrumentalist (and recording artist in his own right) Will Kimbrough. While Toms makes the promise of “I Won’t Go…..,”  the song sure makes it feel as if he had been there.

As is a follow-up to the first track, “Colleen, Goodbye” feels like Toms is keeping his promise to the statement in the first track by leaving for good. The track adds just a touch of sadness to this new release. The music also contains some moving playing by Kimbrough on the mandolin.

Continuing the feeling after promising to leave and saying “goodbye,” Bill Toms offers up the track “Misery”. The Blues-inspired track really brings home the emotions Toms is feeling at that point. The resonator guitar on the track adds just enough of the Blues to have you wishing that the musicians would stay in that frame of mind. But as this isn’t a Blues album, that glimpse into what could have been has to be enough.

The style of the music changes once again, as Toms offers up a track with some spiritual feeling to it with the song “On the Road to Freedom”.  The organ and harmonica in the music add to the spiritual lyrics about heading to a better place.

It’s on the song “Waiting on the Pain” that Memphis from Bill Toms returns to a Soul-influenced direction in the music. “Waiting on the Pain” feels like a group effort as many of the musicians creating the music for this track take turns adding solos to the track. The harmonica playing of Marc Reisman, the saxophone playing of Phil Brontz, the organ playing from “Sudden” Steve Binsberger and guitar from Mark Cholewski create a jam band feeling to make the listener feel as if they are experiencing the band on stage.

On the song “Tear This Old House Down,” the entire musical landscape of the
album changes. The music of the song slows down the pace of the release. It is
on this song that two musicians take center stage: “Sudden” Steve Binsberger
plays the piano and David Henry arranged and played the strings to the song as
Toms sings the lyrics to the track. The strings and piano create a beautiful tune to compliment the powerful lyrics of the song written by Toms.

The energy of the album returns in a big way with the song “Lord, Don’t take me Now”. The song about a man experiencing the high point in his life and not willing to die at that moment features some of the most powerful music on the entire album, making you believe the pleads of the singer.

That same energy continues with the song “I’ve Made Peace Now”. While the music
to this song is calming and beautiful, it’s Toms’ delivery of the lyrics that is full of energy as he sings about coming to terms “with the stranger in me,” as the lyrics say. The piano of Binberger and saxophone of Phil Brontz add to the beauty of Toms’ lyrics.

Memphis from Bill Toms is a very powerful release. The words of Toms are very
passionate in their meaning at times while very powerful at others. And while the songs and talent of Bill Toms are what is important, the album would not be as solid without the help of people like pianist “Sudden” Steve Binsberger, harmonica player Marc Reisman, guitarist Mark Cholewski and drummer Bernie Herr, as well as all the rest. Without these musicians and especially producer/multi-instrumentalist Will Kimbrough. This new release from Bill Toms gives the listener countless reasons to just sit back and enjoy.

CLICK HERE to see the video to “I Won’t Go to Memphis No More”.

Bill Toms recently came to Cleveland, Ohio to perform. When he took to the stage area in The Barking Spider, it was just Toms on acoustic guitar and Bernie Herr (the same drummer from the Memphis release). While it was only just two men in concert, the set was still entertaining, thanks in part to the enthusiasm of Bill Toms. Because of the limited number of musicians on stage (again, only two), one might have expected the music to lack energy. However, Toms and Herr performed as though they were a full band.

During the concert, Bill Toms performed songs from several releases. However, it was the songs from Memphis that were most important as the album had just recently been released.

Some of the highlights of the night included:

“Lord, Don’t Take Me Now.” While performed on only Toms’ guitar and Herr’s drums, this song translated well live. Bill Toms gave everything he had as he sang the lyrics to this song. No energy was lost because of the limited staging of the night.

“I Won’t Go to Memphis No More”. The play between Toms and Herr on this performance made the live version as good as the full band version of the “title track” on the album.

“I’ve Made Peace Now”. As this song on the album is largely based around a piano, this was probably the most different of any of the songs performed that night since Bill Toms is a guitar player. The arrangement for guitar and drums created a version of the song that was just as beautiful as the full band version on the album. Toms and Herr worked well together on this song to make sure the tune was still powerful, despite the lack of other instruments such as the piano.

Whether Bill Toms had come with a full band or not, the duo of Toms and Herr did nothing to disappoint. It would have been nice to see and hear the songs performed with a complete band.
One day, maybe.

(Photo by Fred Maurer)

Check out Michael J. Media, Bill Toms’ PR firm.  

Yes, the same Sheepdogs who graced the August 18 cover of Rolling Stone after beating out 15 other bands in the magazine’s Choose the Cover competition, making them the first unsigned act to accomplish such a feat.

Having seen them only a little while back when they opened for Kings of Leon in the city’s largest venue, the Bell Centre, I was curious to see what The Sheepdogs would be like in a more intimate setting.

From the first song, it was evident that this is one rock band that performs better in a small, sweaty, overcrowded venue. Right in their element, The Sheepdogs, who actually released their first album back in 2006, were right on point. Musically tight and with a voice that makes you think ‘Oh, baby!’ they managed to quickly win over the crowd and even have them cheering for an encore at the end.

It was interesting to pick out individuals in the crowd who were there solely to see what all the fuss was about. ‘If Rolling Stone put them on the cover, they must be good’… and they are. The only question is if they’ll be able to keep up their momentum.

It would be great to see The Sheepdogs go on to have a successful career spanning years – we definitely need more Canadian talent making it big – but in this fickle industry, who knows?

If I were to pinpoint one issue, and this is something I noticed in both their arena gig opening up for KOL and this particular show from their headlining tour, it’s that The Sheepdogs need to figure out a way in which to ensure monotony doesn’t seep in to their set. A group of core songs, which stood out as interesting and uniquely Sheepdogs, was surrounded by others that just sounded too similar and, with minimal on-stage banter, the tunes began to almost blend into one another. Rather than continuously building up, up, up throughout the hour and leaving the audience wanting more, the mix of hits and older, less stellar tracks had the energy level swaying like the stock market.

With that said, the band’s latest release, Learn & Burn, was certified Gold in Canada on November 24, so if The Sheepdogs keep relentlessly building on their momentum and newly found fame and respect, they may just be around for a while.

For everything Sheepdogs visit: http://www.thesheepdogs.com/

The first band on the roster was Twelve on the High. The Brunswick, OH band is
a trio made up of Zach Griffin on lead vocals and guitar, Nick Harley on bass
and Ben Taylor on drums. The trio started off the night with great modern rock
music.

While both Griffin and Taylor were good on their instruments and seemed to
enjoy what they were doing, it was Harley that really kept my attention
throughout most of the band’s thirty-five minute set: Rarely do you see a bass
player who looks like he is having fun on stage, but Nick Harley was smiling,
swaying with the beat, ultimately looking like he was enjoying himself.

The band played music from their 2010 five-song self-titled release. Their
music has a sound that could easily remind you of bands from the mid to late nineties.
Their sound is very reminiscent of Weezer, so it was not surprising when the
band broke into a spirited version of “The Sweater Song”.

Twelve on the High was a great band to start the night of music off. Though
young, the members of the group seem to have the talent that should take them
places.

It was with The Uncanny that the night really started to get interesting. But,
of course, whenever lead singer XeLa (in picture) takes to the stage at any venue, you know the night is going to be interesting.

XeLa (or Alex Alvarez in a different life) has a style and sound all his own,
and has released several albums that feature XeLa in a solo setting or with one
or two people filling out the sound. But with his relatively new band, The
Uncanny, XeLa’s music takes on a whole new life. And for the concert on
Saturday Night, XeLa was joined by three of his band mates from The Uncanny.
Along with XeLa on guitar and vocals, the rest of the nights line-up included:
Noah Feher on bass, Mike Marotta on keys and Chris Maneri on drums. (Due to
limited stage size, the remaining members of the band were not in attendance
that night.

About half of The Uncanny’s seventy-minute set included songs off of the band’s
2010 release, Worx of Odd. “Allways,” “Lady Buggin,” and “Sukkin Teeth” helped
create the variety that each set from The Uncanny is known for. But, of
course, the song “$ Sandwiches” (or ‘Money Sandwiches’) is one that really
conveys the “oddness” that is XeLa. The refrain from the song says it all: “I
eat my Money Sandwiches. I put my money where my mouth is”. Lyrics like that
make XeLa “XeLa”.

Along with XeLa’s unique writing style, it is also the choice of cover songs
that also makes a concert from The Uncanny unusual. Along with the theme song
to The Muppet Show (done instrumental), the band also launched into another
song that can be attributed to Jim Henson and his company; if you know Sesame
Street, you should be familiar with what XeLa refers to as “the number song”.
Sing with me now: “One, Two, Three, Four, Five. Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten.
Eleven. Twelve.” When the band launched into that, you could see smiles flash across the faces of those in attendance.

Once XeLa and his band The Uncanny were finished with their set, it was time
for Mutts to take the stage. This was a homecoming of sorts for Greater
Cleveland native singer/keyboardist Mike Maimone, as this was the first time
Maimone had been back to Cleveland since he formed Mutts with bassist Bob
Buckstaff back in Chicago. Maimone, Buckstaff and drummer Joe Muller set up on
the Wilbert’s stage and waited to see what Mike’s hometown area thought of this
new band.

While Mike Maimone creates music on his own that reminds you of Tom Waits (with
the raspy voice and all), the music from Mutts allows Maimone to show his wild
side both on stage and on their recordings. The sound of Mutts is part rock,
part punk, even part heavy metal, while all being played on piano, bass and
drums.

Once Mutts took to the stage at Wilbert’s, they let loose and never let up for
the forty minutes or so they were performing. Their powerful set featured “Masquerade,” “Junior,” “Terranaut” and “Symmetry” from the band’s most recent release The Tells of Parallels. The set also included plenty of material from the band’s
previous releases, as well.

While Mike Maimone is definitely the frontman of the group, it was also
entertaining to watch the band’s other founding member of Bob Buckstaff as he
plays the bass during their shows. Between the two musicians, the audience is
entertained visually as well as audibly.

The set for Mutts was loud, energetic, fast and over way too fast. It was a great
first Cleveland appearance for Mike Maimone and this band. Hopefully, they’ll
be back.

Between the modern rock sounds of Twelve on the High, the unusual nature and
unique blending of styles of The Uncanny and the heavy nature of the music from
Mutts, the Saturday, September 16^th show at Cleveland’s own Wilbert’s Food & Music proved that real rock and roll music still exists and there are still bands out there that want to create new music that is fresh and entertaining.

Haino opened with an atonal guitar drone piece, carving out giant slabs of distorted sound. His guitar was to have this highly overdriven tone for much of the set, largely achieved from the sheer volume and drive of his long row of amplifiers—often so distorted as to conceal any discernible melody. Intensity would pick up and he would violently raise his guitar into the air to bring a chord crashing brutally down, hair flying. A particularly powerful moment came with his exploration of vast dynamic range, tearing at his strings with enormous power and immediately muting them for near-silence.

After this most brutal guitar work of the night, he began to sing very softly into one of his mics. This was looped as he sang a higher melody over top, then higher still, building into a hovering choir of perfectly meshed voices until he began to sing something low, still very soft when he attacked the other mic with blood curdling screams. This mic screeched and distorted with the intensity; then a return to the hovering choir, now accompanied by the looping ghostly, distorted screams. Then another searing attack.

One of the more memorable moments of the night was when he approached the two curious domes sitting forbiddingly on his cluttered tabletop. These were to control squalls of synthetic distortion. He moved his hands about them as though controlling the very elements, sometimes altering the squall from several feet away. He would then stand motionless, palms rested heavily, like a Japanese thunder god just basking in blistering noise.

This spell was broken when he dove at the drum machine, hitting a scattered, off-kilter rhythm which was then looped—the most adept use of a loop pedal this writer has witnessed—into jazz timing with industrial power. He approached the mics to sing softly once more, while plucking an ethereal wash on the guitar. He was singing us a lullaby, hailing both from Japan and elsewhere altogether otherworldly. This was sheer night music, pitch black, and segued into a gorgeous chord progression; the first tonal, melodic moment of the set.

Haino returned to a guitar drone, something of a reprise of the first piece, when something happened to his power. His guitar had been cut off. The thunder god was disarmed, and screamed instead into his mics. Approaching his mass of amplifiers, he brought the guitar back to life for a short time until he abruptly stopped and left the stage. There was enthusiastic applause that quickly dissipated. It was quiet when a small Japanese woman peered out a door offstage. There would be no encore.

Unforgettably bleak, pitch-black, nihilistic night music.

Almost 3 years ago to the day, I first saw the Trews and they totally blew me away. They packed Jackhammer’s Nightclub in Brantford, Ontario, home of Wayne Gretzky, and blew the doors off with their very own brand of all Canadian straight up, kick ass rock n roll.

Well this night, opening for Kid Rock at the ACC was really no different other than the size of the venue, stage, PA, audience and of course, ticket price.

They hit the stage with an all-star, greatest hits lineup of no bullshit Trews tunage. Only the best of the best as their opening slot allowed only a dozen songs to showcase to Mr. Rock’s fans what the Trews are all about.

But who in the house didn’t already know it? We’ve been sitting on this beautiful little gem of a band far too long. I fully expected them to be a HUGE rock n roll force by now taking the world by storm but maybe I get a little biased and aggressive in my enthusiasm for a decent band.

The ACC still hadn’t come close to filling up yet but the Trews cranked at full volume was a good way to bring the Kid Rock fans to their seats. I’m sure the few people who didn’t know who the Trews were, nodded in recognition of EVERY song they played for their meager set for every song, like I said, was the cream of the crop that is the Trews.

Colin MacDonald came out sporting a white suit jacket and his British bulls-eye Telecaster clearly ready for one of Canada’s largest and most revered venues. His brother John-Angus wielded his beautiful Les Paul Sunburst with the crunch and finesse he always does while the weird n wonderful Jack Syperek tickled his Fender Precision that looks like if he plays it one more time it’ll disintegrate and crumble through his fingers.

But oh that old baby has some character! No wonder he won’t hang it up for good! Drummer Sean Dalton was tucked so far back I could barely see him let alone get a photo of him. That’s the problem with a 7ft stage, photographers gotta be 7 fuckin feet tall too! Anyway, the Trews kicked ass.

If only Kid Rock would take them on tour across the States, he could show our neighbours to the South this beauty of a Canadian gem. Polish it up a bit, throw it in front of one of those reality TV antique dealer arseholes and see what they think it’s worth. What if he says it’s fuckin worthless and flicks it back across the table as if it’s last weeks Timbits?

Who really cares what they think it’s worth? I think the Trews is a great big bar o’ Canadian gold. But then who the hell cares what I think either?

Mike Forbes
Rebel Reviewer Dot Com

[Show as slideshow]

This was not the case with 10,000 Horses. The opening track ‘Headstone’ detonates this cluster bomb of solidly rocking tunes and nails you down, demanding your attention. It takes no prisoners from the start, as it begins with a volley of guitar, bass and drums leading into the vocals. It has a true rebellious edge. ‘Sin’ is just as hard edged and leads onto ‘Feel Karma,’ which  just tops this opening trio of tracks, as it kicks out with an unstoppable vengeance.

‘End of the Empire’ follows suit, slowing the pace with a little retrospective melancholy. The harmonies in this superbly written song are just so good with some very subtle cello in the background. ‘You Will Never Know’ pounds its way up and out of the ashes, the attitude and direction rising once again as this powerful song punches out. ‘It Doesn’t Matter to Me’ is very much along the same lines, with an amazing heavy blues edge to the guitar sound.

‘Burn’ blasts away and takes a step into the final chapter of this album. ‘Nowhere Inbetween’ has been around for a while, but fits in so well. ‘Sleepwalker’ is a ballistic ballad which revolves around some innovative rhythms. ‘Rain’ is another ballad, this one has much less pace and is rather more genteel.

‘Never Make It Out Alive’ is the bonus track and works as a brilliant prologue. It sounds like a re-worked ‘Dirty Angel’ (another older song), but this does close the album very sweetly.

If you like Queens of the Stone Age, Diamond Head, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots or Audioslave, you will love Voodoo Johnson.

Rating: 8/10

Shortly after the release of 10,000 Horses last year, VJ’s vocalist Kev Bayliss left the band, leaving them high and dry as they were booked in to support Europe on the UK dates of their ‘Balls and Banners’ tour. Nik Taylor-Stoaks from Vallenbrosa joined Voodoo Johnson at the mic just in time and the tour carried on.

I was able to get to the Bristol date of this tour and was simply blown away by the opening set that Voodoo Johnson played. As you can imagine on a major tour of such a big headline band the timing was very tight and VJ came on stage right on cue to a good sized audience who were eagerly waiting for VJ to start. We were not disappointed, VJ played a truly stonking little set that began with ‘Headstone’. This drew more and more people into the auditorium and then ‘Feel Karma’ was next. The atmosphere was charged with the hex of Voodoo Johnson and then we were treated to ‘Sin’. It was about this time when the PA’s kicked in properly, it always bugs as this always seems to happen to support bands! ‘Nowhere Inbetween’ was next leading onto the all new Voodoo Johnson song ‘Black Skies Mist’ (now available to purchase). The set was finished with ‘Seven Years’ and VJ left the stage amidst a great deal of well earned and deserved applause. This set was sensational, and the fact that Nik Taylor-Stoakes only had the chance of minimal practise sessions before taking to the stage with VJ made for an even greater impression.

10,000 Horses, is a wonderful debut album and a great deal of credit has to go to all of the players. Kev Bayliss is powerfully dynamic on the vocals and Carl and Paul Gethin on guitars could easily be the best guitar combo since the Young brothers.  Rich Bellamy plays bass, his style adds plenty of punch whilst also sounding so smooth. Dave Barker is on the drums, manipulating and creating those VJ rhythms with true Voodoo style.

Since Nik has joined VJ their sound has really come together even more than ever. I personally feel that it has improved significantly, it has now gelled and fused together to an extent which is a true revelation in itself. Kev’s approach to the vocals added so much power to overall sound but also at times seemed to be taking over a little too much, overpowering the overall sound by drowning the rich instrumentation provided by the rest of VJ with just a little too much vocals. Nik’s slightly dirtier style of vocals loses none of the power but rocks just as hard. The new Voodoo Johnson sound is even harder and heavier due to this. VJ now sound even more unified as the balance has improved. There are so many good reasons why this band have been the most talked about new heavy rock act in the UK, now there are even more.

The new VJ song, ‘Black Skies Mist’ is available for purchase, I gave it a thorough testing as soon as it landed on the VJ MySpace music player and this was my instant reaction to it….

‘Black Skies Mist’ is a true gobsmacker of a hard-edged and powerful track by Voodoo Johnson, from the forthcoming new EP and written with Brian Tatler of Diamond Head. This truly heralds bright new beginnings from the mighty Voodoo Johnson. It is a true benchmark of a rock song, setting new standards and putting Voodoo Johnson firmly into to the global hard rock hall of honor.

This song is four minutes and fifty nine seconds of solid heavy rock joy. I have listened to it repeatedly on their space player as it has been up for a limited time and it is not possible to tire of it. The solid wall of guitars laid over such a lively set of drum rhythms which roll in and out of the choruses is just typical Voodoo Johnson class and style. The addition of Nik Taylor-Stoaks on vocals has been a cataclysmic move. Good things can come from the most impossible situations at times, and this new line up proves the point. You can hear the Diamond Head influence in this song but this does not detract or lessen the distinctive sound of Voodoo Johnson.

Right, I am going stop now. All I have to say is that this new song is pure aural sex – Voodoo Johnson tick all of the boxes while adding a few more!

For more on Voodoo Johnson: http://www.myspace.com/voodoojohnson

Toronto’s These Electric Lives are feeling warm and fuzzy all over and they want you to feel it too. Fresh from their Indie Week Canada win, they are hitting the road with friends The Love Machine and guest Hungry Hearts, making stops at:

Dec 2 – Clark Hall Pub @ Queens University
Kingston, ON

Dec 4 – Zaphods
Ottawa, ON

Described as making music that bridges the gap between electro-pop/new wave and supercharged indie-rock, These Electric Lives play their own brand of “melodic dance rock”.  TEL’s exciting and energetic live show consistently delivers uplifting and danceable anthems fuelled by an intensity of honest emotion and the powerful soaring voice of lead singer Mark Stanfield.

After gaining the attention of fans and industry alike with their homemade Learn By Doing EP, the Toronto, Canada based quartet began working with Juno-nominated producer João Carvalho (João Carvalho Mastering) releasing their critically acclaimed, self-titled debut EP in 2007. The underground hit “We Should Be Believing” continues to chart on college and internet radio stations around the globe. These Electric Lives’ infectious and catchy songs have become increasingly popular with DJ’s and producers in Canada, the US, and Europe, prompting the release of a TEL remix album in 2008.

In September 2010  TEL digitally released a new EP entitled “We See Light…” and are currently back in the studio working on a follow up EP to be released in the new year. Fresh off their Indie Week Canada win, These Electric Lives are also gearing up for their first international tour. After a gruelling 5 day contest, the band received top honours out of over 160 artists from 10 countries, competing for the chance to headline the Indie Week Ireland 2011 festival.

Feel/Hear the love with These Electric Lives on the L’amour Electrique Tour 2010:

Dec 2 – Clark Hall Pub

Queens University
Kingston, ON
8pm

Dec 3 – The Garrison

1197 Dundas St. W
Toronto, Ontario
9pm,   $5

Dec 4 – Zaphods

27 York Street
Ottawa, ON
9pm,  $7

THESE ELECTRIC LIVES ONLINE

Official: http://www.theseelectriclives.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6774427910
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheseElectricLives